Unnatural History

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Mark Harrison

It's been a while since I posted a piece focused on a particular artist, so I'm making up for that fact now with this post about Mark Harrison.

I first came across Mark's work through legendary British comic 2000AD. He's illustrated everything from Durham Red to Pulp Sci-Fi but I particularly remember his visceral art for Gordon Rennie's Glimmer Rats.

However, roughly eight years after Glimmer Rats I found myself working with Mark myself. He realised the cover for Unnatural History - featuring a duel atop a steam train and a T-Rex with St Paul's Cathedral in the background - and since then has produced every Pax Britannia novel cover (including Al Ewing's El Sombra and the forthcoming Gods of Manhattan).

You can visit Mark's own website here, and see his other novel covers, alongside his comic artwork and concept paintings for computer games.

So far, those people who have already entered have raised a fantastic £77. But wouldn't it be great if we could make the PaxBritannia contributions top £100?

Come on, you know you want to have your name immortalised in print! I mean, who wouldn't?

If you haven't entered the competition yet, don't be put off - any donation will do, no matter how small. After all, it is for charity. Just remember to tag your donation with the comment 'Jon Green sent me' to qualify.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Night of the Necromancer - another glowing review

Wow, what a ride it was! This is one of the most clever, well-crafted gamebook I've ever read. I think really few other books can match this quality in the FF series except for the Sorcery! ones, at least in regard of the intricacies of the game system.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Night of the Living Email

Rob Sanders

I first met Rob Sanders a couple of years ago now at Games Day. (Don't know what Games Day is? Then click here.) The first story of his I read was Cold Light of Day which appeared in Inferno! magazine #40 - and very good it was too.

Well Rob's now a fully-fledged novelist. His first novel, Redemption Corps is available now, and he's busy at work on his second. And he has his own blog (of course). To find out more, follow this link.

Even better than that is the fact that a number of people have already entered (and been very generous into the bargain). But if you haven't entered yet, don't be put off - any donation will do, no matter how small. After all, it is for charity. Just remember to tag your donation with the comment 'Jon Green sent me' to qualify.Good luck and (if you've already entered) thank you.

World of the Strange

The future of Coke?

Friday, April 9, 2010

Win a walk on part in Dark Side

Have you ever fancied seeing yourself immortalised in print in a rip-roaring steampunk adventure? Well, if you have, here's the perfect opportunity. Interested?

The PrizeA walk on part in the next Ulysses Quicksilver Pax Britannia novel Dark Side, due to be published by Abaddon Books by the end of the year. It will be up to me how you appear in the book and whether you're a hero, a villain or a third class laundry room attendant, but your name will appear somewhere within the book.

How to EnterAll you have to do to qualify is make a small donation to charity. My sister-in-law is running in this year's London Marathon for the Devon Air Ambulance. If you sponsor her via her Just Giving page, along with the comment 'Jon Green sent me', then on the day of the marathon I will put all qualifying names into a hat and, after the race, get my sister-in-law to pick one. It really couldn't be easier.

So, if you'd like to enter this competition simply follow this link. To find out more about the work of the Devon Air Ambulance click here. I look forward to reviewing your entries in due course.

If you like what you see in The Relic you may be interested to know that I have just finished another space marine story, this time featuring the Imperial Fists, for a future anthology. The story is tentatively titled But Dust in the Wind. But more about that another time...

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Night of the Necromancer - another great review

There's another glowing 5-star review of Night of the Necromancer up on Amazon today, by one W J Turton, although strangely, from the date, it looks like it was posted before the coveted first review of the book.

Confusion over dates aside, it's the kind of review that writers dream of, so I'm going to post it in its entirety here:

Jon Green is now an established name in the Gamebook community. An author of no mean competence, he has (amongst other achievements) produced some celebrated titles in the long-running Fighting Fantasy series.

Night of the Necromancer is a tale that centres around the bloodthirsty murder of a proud knight in the kingdom of Ruddlestone. Slain upon returning from a crusade, the adventure concerns his spirit's quest for vengeance, determined to learn who ordered his death and to exact a fitting revenge upon them. It soon becomes obvious, however, that his own death is the least of his concerns...

Green's device of placing the adventurer as a Ghost is decidedly novel, and adds rather than detracts from the quest's theme. It is an excellent premise, combining acquired skills (the ability to control objects in much the same way as a Poltergeist, for instance) with solid storytelling - making for a creative tale with a great deal of reader/player involvement.

Green is also keen to strike a balance between appealing to older and younger audiences. This doesn't suggest that he is unsure of who to aim the book at, but indicates his capability as a writer to craft a work so as to be of interest to a broad spectrum. As a result, Night of the Necromancer is a book that can easily be enjoyed by teenagers and adults alike - the common element required for all generations is an imagination!

As a result, at this bargain price, Night of the Necromancer is certainly worth consideration, both to Fighting Fantasy fans and also anyone curious of the gamebook concept. Whether it is your first or just one of many, this volume doesn't disappoint.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Cometh the hour, cometh the man

So I finally got to watch the brand new Doctor Who last night. And my verdict on The Eleventh Hour (which was, I felt, very much a statement of intent for the new series)...?

Funnier, darker, sexier (the Doctor's new companion's a kiss-a-gram!?!), less of RTD's obsession with... well, you know what... and all in all a lot of fun. But what's with the new theme tune?

I thought it was virtually unrecognisable as Ron Granier's classic. And I'm not too sure about the central column's glass conjugal toy-style appearance. But I'm hooked and I can't wait for the next one.

Loved the line, 'Basically, run.' Highly reminiscent of Moffat's Doctor in Forest of the Dead. 'You're in a library - look me up!'

You might also be interested to know that there are four new Doctor Who: Decide Your Destiny adventures coming out soon. None of them by me but if you'd like to know more, follow this link.

Behind the Scenes: Knights of Doom - the Celastrix

Now, if you've not read this hard to get hold of FF adventure (Knights of Doom is the only one of my gamebooks that hasn't been re-printed by Wizard Books and is going for £35+ on Ebay) then you might not want to read on just yet.

WARNING - SPOILERS!

WARNING - SPOILERS!

WARNING - SPOILERS!

Still here? On your head be it then...

In the latter stages of the adventure you save the mythical Celastrix from a band of Beastmen. The Celastrix is a huge bird that glows with an ethereal light and its release is vital to your success in the mission, helping you in your quest to heal the land by ridding it of the foul influence of Chaos.

The Celastrix by Tony Hough

The Celastrix was directly inspired by the Caladrius of legend. It was an all-white bird that lived in the king's household. If it looked into the face of a sick man, this action predicted that the man would live. However, if the Caladrius looked away, the sick man was doomed to die of his illness. To cure the sick man, the Caladrius could look at hi, and draw the sickness into itself. The bird then flew towards the sun, where the disease was burned up and destroyed. The Caladrius was considered an unclean bird and as such must not be eaten.

Crisis on Coruscant and Night of the Necromancer climbing the charts

As of this morning, Crisis on Coruscant is at #93 in the Star Wars chart on Amazon, while Night of the Necromancer (which has only been out a matter of days) is at #71 in Amazon's Children's Science Fiction and Fantasy list. Not bad if I do say so myself.

I've you've bought one of the above for yourself, thanks very much. Why not post a review on Amazon and sent me the link.

If you haven't bought them yet - especially Night of the Necromancer - then what are you waiting for? You're missing out! (By the way, first link to a good review of NOTN on Amazon wins a special mention on this blog!)

Why not watch this short film I made to see for yourself whether you think Night of the Necromancer is unsuitable for children, considering the popularity of books such as the Twilight series or those by Darren Shan.

About Me

I am a freelance writer and editor, well known for my contributions to the Fighting Fantasy range of adventure gamebooks. I have also written for such diverse properties as Sonic the Hedgehog, Doctor Who, Star Wars and Games Workshop's worlds of Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000.
I am the creator of the alternative steampunk universe of Pax Britannia, and have written eight novels featuring the debonair dandy adventurer Ulysses Quicksilver.
As well as my fiction work, I have also written a number of non-fiction books including 'Match Wits with the Kids', 'What is Myrrh Anyway? Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas' and 'YOU ARE THE HERO - A History of Fighting Fantasy Gamebooks'.